سَل جَنة الشعر ما أَلوى بدوحتها
حَتّى خَلَت مِن ظلال الحُسن وَالطيبِ
Ask the garden of poetry how it was devastated by its beauty
Until it was devoid of the shadows of beauty and fragrance
وَمَن تَصَدّى يَردُّ السَيلَ مُزدَحِماً
لَما تَحَدَّر مِن شُمِّ الأَهاضيبِ
Whoever tries to dam the flood comes back pushed by the current
When it descends from the summits of the hills
وَمَن أَغار عَلى تلكَ الخِيام ضُحىً
يبيح تَقويضها مِن بَعد تَطنيبِ
Whoever attacks these tents in the morning
Makes it lawful to destroy them after beautifying them
هِيَ المَنية ما تَنفكّ سالِبَةً
فَما تُغادر حَيّاً غَير مَسلوبِ
It is death that does not cease to take away
It does not spare anyone alive without stripping them
حَقُ العُروبة أَن تَأسى لِشاعرها
وَتُذرف الدَمع مَنهَلّاً بِمَسكوبِ
It is the right of the Arabs to grieve for their poet
And shed tears copiously like pouring rain
وَتُرسل الزَفرة الحَرّى مصدّعة
ضُلوع كُل عَميد القَلب مَكروبِ
And send a burning sigh that shatters
The ribs of every tender-hearted chief
مَن للقريض عَريقاً في عُروبته
يَأتي بسحرين مِن مَعنى وَتَركيبِ
Who has ancient roots in his Arabness
Comes up with two kinds of magic of meaning and composition
وَمِن لغرّ القَوافي وَهِيَ مُشرِقَة
كَأَوجه البَدَويات الرَعابيب
And the coquetry of rhymes which shine
Like the faces of young Bedouin girls
أَبا المَكارم قُم في الحَفل مُرتَجِلاً
مُهذَّباتك لَم تصقل بِتَهذيبِ
O father of nobility, rise and improvise in this gathering
Your refined verses were not polished by refinement
وَأَضرِم النارَ إِن القَومَ هامِدة
قُلوبُهُم ذلَّ قَلبٌ غَير مَشبوبِ
And ignite the fire for the people have become apathetic
Their hearts subdued, no heart aroused
وَاِنفخ إِباءَك في آنافهم غَضَباً
فَقَد تُحَرِّكُ أَصنامَ المَحاريبِ
And blow your indignation in their noses out of anger
For it may stir the idols of the shrines
تَمكن الذلّ مِن قَومي فَلا عَجَب
أَلّا يُبالوا بِتَقريع وَتَأنيبِ
Humiliation has taken hold of my people, no wonder
They do not care about rebuke and admonishment
ما أَشرَفَ العُذرَ لَو أَن الوَغى نثرت
أَشلاءَهم بَينَ مَطعون وَمَضروبِ
How honorable the excuse would have been, had the calamity scattered
Their body parts among the stabbed and beaten
لَكن دَهتهم أَساليب العداة وَهُم
ساهون لاهون عَن تِلكَ الأَساليبِ
But the methods of the enemies overwhelmed them while they
Slept unaware, oblivious of those methods
وَيَقنعون بِمبذولٍ يلوِّحُهُ
مُستعمِروهم بِتبعيد وَتَقريبِ
And they are content with the little dangled
By their colonizers with intimidation and appeasement
كَأَنَّهُم لَم يُشيَّد مَجد أَولهم
عَلى السُيوف وَأَطرافِ الأَنابيبِ
As if they did not establish the glory of their ancestors
On swords and spearheads
يا رائِداً كُلَّ أَرض أَهلها عربٌ
يَجتازها نِضو تَصعيد وَتَصويبِ
O guide of every land whose inhabitants are Arabs
Whom you traverse with ascents and descents
وَمُنشِداً عِندهم علماً وَمَعرِفَةً
بِحالهم بَينَ إِدلاج وَتَأويبِ
And you who have knowledge and understanding of their condition
Between prosperity and hardship
هَل جئتَ مِنهُم أُناساً عَيشَهُم رغدٌ
أَم هَل نَزَلَت بِقطر غَير مَنكوبِ
Have you come across people living in comfort
Or has any country been spared devastation?
أَم أَيّ راعٍ بِلا ذئبٍ يُجاوره
إِن لَم تَجد راعياً شَراً مِن الذيبِ
Or which shepherd without a wolf alongside
If you do not find the shepherd worse than the wolf
تَبّوأَ الكاظِميُّ الخلدَ مَنزِلَةً
يَلقى مِن اللَه فيها خَيرَ تَرحيبِ
Al-Kazimi has attained immortality
Where he meets the best reception from God
أَبا المَكارم أَشرِف مِن علاك وَقُل
أَرى فلسطين أَم دُنيا الأَعاجيبِ
O father of nobility, rise above your elevation and say
I see Palestine or the wonders of the world
وَاِنظُر إِلَينا وَسرِّح في الحمى بَصَراً
عَن الهُدى لَم يَكُن يَوماً بِمَحجوبِ
And look at us and survey attentively in the protected land
Guidance has never been veiled
تَجد قَوياً وَفي وَعدَ الدَخيل وَلَم
يَكُن لَنا مِنهُ إِلّا وَعد عَرقوبِ
You will find a strong, faithful promise to the foreigner but
We got from him nothing but a fleeting mirage
وَمَرَّ سَبع وَعشر في البِلاد لَهُ
وَحكمه مَزج تَرهيب وَتَرغيبِ
Seventeen years have passed in the country ruled by him
His rule a mix of intimidation and enticement
قَد تَنتَهي هَذِهِ الدُنيا وَفي يَدِهِ
مَصيرنا رَهن تَدريب وَتَجريبِ
This world may end while in his hands
Our fate is hostage to training and testing
حال أَرى شَرَّها في الناس مُنتَشِراً
وَخَيرَها لِلمَطايا وَالمَحاسيبِ
I see its evil spread among the people
And its good for the saddled horses and accountants
هَل في فَلسطين بَعدَ البُؤس مِن دعةٍ
أَم لِلزَمان اِبتِسام بَعدَ تَقطيبِ
Is there any comfort left in Palestine after the misery
Or does time smile again after frowning?
كَم حَققَ العَزم والاعجال مِن أَمَلٍ
وَخابَ قَصد بِإمهالٍ وَتَقليبِ
How many resolves and haste led to disappointment
And intentions failed by procrastination and evasion
